Gameday Newsletter: Week 1, Cowboys
All the information you need to enjoy the Browns season-opener against the Cowboys.
We finally made it. Yep, it’s gameday everyone. Not the fake preseason variety, I mean the real thing.
Let’s all exhale a little now but let’s try not to pretend like the nerves aren’t worse than ever. This team will have an impact on our mental health and general happiness for the next four and a half months and we have to make peace with that.
From what we have been told, the Muni Lot is already slammed with buses and vans parked in line and nothing gets you more fired up than knowing that place will be loaded with sauced up fans, with a little extra seasoning by the 4:25PM kickoff.
The stadium, newly-minted Huntington Field, will be rocking and the Cowboys will have to somehow overcome that raucous environment in a way few did last season. The Browns only lost one home game in 2023, so let’s see them continue that trend of recent dominance.
Inside the weekly Gameday Newsletter you will get all the pieces of information paired with your Gameday Podcast to enhance your Sundays with this team.
So, sit back, pour your coffee, turn on the best pre-game Browns song known to man, and enjoy a fresh delivery of crucial information from the BFB staff.
Savor it, folks. It's going to be a picture perfect day for football today. Kevin Stefanski was worried about getting his team adapting to the afternoon heat during Training Camp but, at least for this week, the heat will not be an issue.
It will be a beautiful 64 degrees at kickoff and plenty of sunshine throughout. There will be a light Northwest wind, though, at around 10-15MPH. Truly ideal football weather, 10/10.
The Browns have an advantage over the Cowboys here as the Browns have 18 wins to 14 losses. Although, it comes with some caveats. The Cowboys have won four of the last five matchups, but the Browns won the most recent showdown in 2020 when they went into AT&T Stadium and won 49-38.
The Browns have not beat the Cowboys in Cleveland since 1988.
The Browns offense will be scratching and clawing for every yard in this game, and they will need to pick on the Cowboys’ replacement for the injured DaRon Bland. That replacement at cornerback is fifth-round rookie Caelen Carson out of Wake Forest.
He played in plenty of the Cowboys preseason action and there is a failure to process schemes unfolding in front of him quick enough to disrupt.
The Browns have to challenge Carson in order to create easy yards in the passing game. Also, make the rookie have to fit the run game in space as well. That pressure across an entire game can lead to a big play or two.
The stat that keeps showing up this week is Dak Prescott’s success against man coverage. The Browns love to run it and the Cowboys quarterback typically eats it up — especially against the Browns preferred Cover-1 approach.
Prescott completed 98 passes on 144 attempts for 1,408 yards, 851 air yards, 10 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 114.0 – the NFL’s best by a pretty decent margin. Jordan Love ranked second at 105.5.
The Browns ability to find success in Cover-1 but disguising it more pre-snap to post-snap will be paramount. Also, Jim Schwartz needs to throw a wrinkle into the overall coverage usage to put more looks in front of Prescott he fails to recognize. That gives the man below, wearing No. 95, just a few more seconds to wreak havoc.
Start
CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper: if you have these players it’s very unlikely, even in a bad matchup for both offenses, that you would even consider sitting this guys, so don’t. Start them.
Sit
Ezekiel Elliott and Deshaun Watson: these guys have too risky a profile and too poor a matchup to lay on the line in Week 1 where we are still learning about these teams. Elliott’s usage rates are undefined and the Browns willingness to throw Watson into a pass-heavy approach remains to be seen.
Jeudy Over 38.5 Receiving Yards
Njoku Over 43.5 Receiving Yards
Rico Dowdle Over 40.5 Rushing/Receiving Yards
Under 20.5 First Half Points
This parlay on DraftKings pays 10/1 which feels like good odds. For the Browns, David Njoku was unlocked last year and Jerry Jeudy is the new toy to showcase. For the Cowboys, Rico Dowdle might be the primary ball carrier in this one and he's likely to get the majority of the receiving work.
As for the under, both offenses didn't see any preseason work and it seems reasonable to expect a slow start.
Let’s end with some fun trips down memory lane against these Cowboys.
We start with 2020 when Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham connected on this fun reverse pass en route to the Browns 49-38 win in Dallas and eventual trip to the playoffs.
Lastly, who could forget the Browns goal line stand in 1994 to get the team to 10 wins and gave us the lasting memory of emotional Bill Belichick and Nick Saban hugging on the sideline.
Catch us LIVE on the Browns Film Breakdown Show where we will cover everything Post-Game at 7:30PM on our YouTube Channel.
As always, Go Browns!
Great setup for a Gameday newsletter. 🕺👍
LET’S GOOOOO!!!!!!